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Date:      Mon, 7 Oct 1996 23:26:04 +0400 (MSD)
From:      "=?KOI8-R?Q?=E1=CE=C4=D2=C5=CA_=FE=C5=D2=CE=CF=D7?=" (Andrey A. Chernov) <ache@nagual.ru>
To:        terry@lambert.org (Terry Lambert)
Cc:        terry@lambert.org, joerg_wunsch@uriah.heep.sax.de, freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.org, current@FreeBSD.org, bde@zeta.org.au
Subject:   Re: I plan to change random() for -current (was Re: rand() and random())
Message-ID:  <199610071926.XAA04826@nagual.ru>
In-Reply-To: <199610071810.LAA14432@phaeton.artisoft.com> from "Terry Lambert" at "Oct 7, 96 11:10:44 am"

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> Unless you are a mathematical programmer, you are unlikely to be
> able to aprehend the consequences of even a trivial change away from
> mathematical standards will have.  There are verifiable standards
> of correctness, and each standard dictates issues of precision to
> which one can trust the code.  Obviously, differences after the
> significant digits can be ignored for comparison -- and are, in fact,
> stripped from results as the "noise" that they are.

FYI, I am applied mathematic, B.S. degree.

> I suggest strict adherence to standards -- mathematical standards,
> not ANSI or ISO C standards -- with regard to maintaining precision
> and historical implementation, as required to ensure repeatability
> and trust.

Current random() code is joke from mathematical point of view (but not from
ANSI/ISO standards). It is why it needs fixing.

-- 
Andrey A. Chernov
<ache@nagual.ru>
http://www.nagual.ru/~ache/



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